Spurs Ease Past Palace in Dominant Display

Sunday 26th December 2021

Match Report

Tottenham Hotspur 3 – 0 Crystal Palace

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

Competition: English Premier League

"Pre-Match Thoughts – Good to see the game going ahead after much deliberation. I'm backing us to carry on this positive run we're on under Conte – 2-0 Spurs."

Three changes from the quarter final win over West Ham – Davies made way to give Tanganga a go as one of the three centre-backs. Royal returned on the right for Doherty, and Son started in place of Bergwijn.

3' The first chance fell to Son as he unleashed a left-footed curler from just outside the area that the keeper managed to dive and prevent from finding the bottom corner.

11' Tanganga cut inside from the right and took on an audacious shot that was blocked by a Palace defender and fell to Skipp in the D of the penalty box. He took a touch to set himself then laced one at goal but didn't catch it right and it swerved wide of the mark.

25' Son nudged it out to Reguilón on the left wing, he whipped in a delightful cross onto the head of Moura right in front of goal, but he failed to generate enough direction on the header and it was glanced wide.

32' Royal spotted Moura racing down the right and wasted no time threading a ball through that he showed blistering pace to latch onto before sliding square to Kane who side-footed first time across goal. The keeper got a hand to it but couldn't keep it out and it flew into the right side of the net. 1-0.

34' Moura found Kane between halfway and the opposition penalty area, he noticed Royal in reams of space down the right side and played it into his path with an excellently weighted through ball. Royal lofted in a cross and the incoming Moura leaped above a Palace defender to head home from close range. 2-0.

37' Zaha, having already been booked, was involved in a tussle with Sánchez by the by-line which resulted in him lashing out and throwing Sánchez to the ground. It earned him a second yellow and his marching orders. Palace down to ten.

"Thoughts at Half-Time – It took a while for Spurs to get going, but as soon as they did they found two quality goals in as many minutes. Palace's best player being sent off soon after means there's a mountain to climb for the visitors now. Good to see Kane on the scoresheet again, hopefully he's in for more in the second half."

57' Son sent over an out-swinging that Kane came to meet on the half volley. It was a good effort but was just too high and over the bar.

64' Surprising to see Kane subbed for Bergwijn. A chance for him to rest and for Bergwijn to kick-on from where he left off last week.

74' Skipp poked it out to Moura by the right side of the area. He crossed to Son who opened up his body and knocked it home with a delicate left-footed finish from inside the six-yard box. 3-0.

75' It turned out to be Son's last touch as he made way for Gil.

83' Intricate passing from Skipp in the penalty area teed up Moura who had to sort his feet out quickly to get his shot away. He couldn't keep his effort down though and it sailed over.

"Thoughts at Full-Time – Another strong Spurs performance under Conte as we run out comfortable 3-0 winners. A goal for each of our front three is very promising to see. Up to 5th now with multiple games in hand. Let's hope for another 3 points on Tuesday when we travel to Southampton."

Tottenham Player Ratings

• 1. Hugo Lloris – 7 – Hardly had anything to do. Comfortable clean sheet on his birthday.

• 6. Davinson Sánchez – 7.5 – Continues to improve since the arrival of Conte. Looked solid again today. Even threatened to nick a goal late on as he ventured forward which is a good sign of his growing confidence.

• 15. Eric Dier – 7 – Commanding performance at the heart of defence again. Wasn't troubled very often.

• 25. Japhet Tanganga – 8 – Surprise to see him in place of Davies who's been a regular since Conte's arrival. He did well though, proving he's a well-worthy option in the heart of defence.

• 12. Emerson Royal – 7.5 – Heavily involved. Good to see him assist the second goal as his delivery has been something he needs to improve on. Did his duties defensively too.

• 29. Oliver Skipp – 8 – Kept things ticking over in the middle of the park. Won tackles, made interceptions and picked out passes. Another strong display from the youngster performing beyond his years.

• 5. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 6 – Seemed a bit off the boil today. Surprised he wasn't subbed earlier as he lost possession with some tired looking passes. Still put a shift in for the side.

• 3. Sergio Reguilón – 7 – The engine up and down that left side again. Put one on a plate for Moura in the first half that he should have done better with.

• 27. Lucas Moura – 9 – Another excellent performance, lively, determined and dangerous throughout. A goal and two assists the reward for his efforts.

• 7. Son Heung-min – 7.5 – Started brightly almost finding the net inside the first five minutes. Nicked himself a goal in the second half to seal the victory.

• 10. Harry Kane – 7 – Well-taken goal. Always unusual to see him subbed but made sense with the hectic upcoming fixture schedule.

Substitutions:

• 10. Harry Kane ⬅ 64' ➡ 23. Steven Bergwijn – 6 – One decent run and shot trying to get on the scoresheet.

• 7. Son Heung-min ⬅ 76' ➡ 11. Bryan Gil – 6 – Looked to make an impact. Showed some decent touches.

• 5. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg ⬅ 79' ➡ 28. Tanguy Ndombele – 6 – Game was already won by time he came on and didn't do anything worthy of a mention.

Man of the Match – 27. Lucas Moura